The only commune in the Haute-Vienne department to be classified as “One of the Most Beautiful Villages in France”, Mortemart is rich in the vestiges of its glorious past, and boasts an imposing architectural ensemble of great purity of line. The village of Mortemart is built around a castle that Abon Drut, Seigneur de Mortemart, was authorized to build in 995 after victoriously defending the City of Bellac against Count Guillaume de Poitiers. In 1330, Cardinal Pierre Gauvain, a native of Mortemart, founded three convents, including the Hôtel-Dieu with its monumental 17th-century staircase, as well as a college. The former chapel is now the parish church, with its fine 15th-century carved choir stalls, altarpiece, wood paintings and 17th-century gilded wooden lectern.